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I know. We are always hearing about the stress of the Holidays.
But what about the NOT Holidays?
Sure, sometimes, December can be rough.
But with all the goodwill, decorations, parties and whatnot, even with how busy it can be, December can also be quite cheery. The month you gotta worry about—the one you gotta keep your eye on cuz it’s a troublemaker—is January. My apologies to anyone born in January. The month is better because you were born then.
Happy Halloween!
Regardless of whether or not you’re dressing up for Halloween, we all wear masks.
I’m not talking about Covid masks.
I’m talkin’ the happy mask.
The helpful mask.
The promise that I’m not really really really bugged by what you’re doing right now—I swear!— mask.
The other day, in a mentor session with my mentor student Danielle Washington (check out her stuff, she’s amazing!), we were exploring this theme of wearing masks and how to use this in a theme while creating a Yoga Nidra practice and a great question came up:
What is the price of wearing the mask?
Sure, some of those masks may be necessary sometimes.
But ever feel like you’d like to get to know that person under the mask a little better?
Ever feel like you just can’t be yourself?
Ever feel the need to just take the masks off and be exactly who you are, without filter, without the need for anyone’s approval?
Yoga and Yoga Nidra help us to first recognize the masks we are wearing, then to see that what we are is something infinitely larger and more complete than that mask. Once we understand our True Self, we can go back and choose to wear or not wear the mask.
Point is, that the mask is actually a pointer to what you really are.
I invite you to get in touch with your True Self, regardless of the masks you may or may not wear.
Please join me for yoga or Yoga Nidra this weekend where we will get a chance to connect with our True Self.
This month in my once-a-month Restore Yoga and Yoga Nidra workshop (2-hour rest-fest), we’ll be exploring masks and the cost of wearing masks.
I believe the healing suggested in the title is the moment when one realizes that EVERYTHING is sacred, even those most difficult parts of life, the parts that make all of us some time or other flee for the sake of our small and precious lives.
Read moreOne day many years ago, I began my work day with my journal and favorite pen. I set the timer for 11 minutes and committed to keep my pen writing no matter what, even, and especially, if I didn’t know what to write. This is a trusted practice I’d learned from my good friend and collaborator Nan Seymour. What’s so magical about this writing method is that you never quite know what’s going to come rolling out of your pen onto the page.
Read moreToday, just a quick note and fun read.
I hope you’re having an amazing week. I hope you’re opening your eyes to majesty which is around us all the time, the miraculous in the mundane, the beauty in the boring.
I have been nursing an achilles heel injury for many months but finally was able to get out onto the trails above Salt Lake City today for an incredible run. It was like heaven!
When: 6–7:15 pm MDT
Where: Integrative Health, 1174 East Graystone Way #15.
No need to pre-register, just grab your bestie and head on over.
Suggested donation is $15. I take cash or Venmo or original, signed, and authenticated copies of John Coltrane’s 1957 album, Blue Train.
Bring a yoga mat, a blanket, and an eye mask. We’ll move a little, breath, talk a bit, but mostly get into our very relaxing Yoga Nidra practice.
When: Friday September 1st
Where: Mosaic Yoga 1991 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City (map).
All Mosaic classes are by donation. I accept cash, Venmo, (or John Coltrane records)
Power Hour 6–7 am MDT:
An all-levels hour of wake-up yoga with an easy warm-up including Sun Salutations and full-body mobilizations, followed by standing, balance, and grounding poses.
Mindfulness 7:15–8:15 am MDT:
This is an opportunity to sit and meditate with a group of other mindfulness practitioners in a welcoming environment. It’s perfect whether you are a new or experienced meditator.
Power 1 8:45–10 am MDT:
This 75-minute class weaves a spiritual or conscious theme into a Wanderlust format of poses which alternate between short flowing and static sequences to arrive at a therapeutic, cohesive, and well-rounded yoga experience. This class will feature warmups, sun salutations, standing poses, approachable standing and arm balances, core work, hips, and a solid cool down and savasana. I’ll be bringing the clarinet!
Finally, the other day we were walking through the mall and as any self-respecting father would, I bought my 8-year-old a copy of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival handbook, cuz you know… you never know, and I was pleased to see him so enthralled by it. Here he is walking through the mall glued to the entry about how to deliver a baby in the back seat of a car. #proudparent.
Well, come to find out that this book was actually written by our pediatrician’s son. Small world. Brilliant world, but small world.
I was originally introduced to this book many years ago (so I’m happy that the family has an updated version) and as a throwback, today, I wanted to share with you a piece I wrote called The Yoga Worst-Case Scenario Survivors Handbook. Just like yoga, though it’s a little dated it’s still relevant. Also, I originally wrote it about surviving yoga in the arid climate of the Utah deserts so if you don’t understand the arid air reference, now you will.
I hope you’ll enjoy the article and I hope to see you in class. I’ll be leaving back for France early next week.
One of my favorite and most useful books in my library is one called The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.
Its bright yellow hard-backed cover makes it durable so I can take it with me everywhere, and easy to find when I’m in a pinch. This Survival Handbook contains a lot of information; you know, practical and essential know-how for things like giving your cat the Heimlich Maneuver, how to escape your car when it has been completely submerged in water, and how to escape from killer bees.
If you’re a teacher, there’s only so many classes you can teach in a day. There’s no limit to how many people can download your stuff online. Why not do both and give yourself the freedom to reach more people around the world while maximizing your income?
Read moreI recently published an article on Yogi Times called: yoga nidra for sleep: unlocking the power of deep sleep
In this article I share exactly how Yoga Nidra helps you sleep better and offer a suggestion for a nighttime routine using Yoga Nidra that helps you create a wonderful sleep hygiene.
Read moreOne thing I teach in my online Yoga Nidra training is the value of starting over. Tell me if you relate to this story.
I attended college back in the era of “floppy disks” and one day I got a hard lesson on just how "floppy" these disks were.
One evening, after a grueling day of wrestling with an essay I'd been writing for weeks, what was to be my pièce de la résistance, my magnum opus, and intended to be both my senior thesis AND my entry into a prestigious essay contest, I sat down at my desk to print off my essay so I could submit it the following day and as I clicked the floppy disk into my computer and looked at the contents to find the file to print … nothing. Nada. Rien.
Floppy.
Everything on that disk had been mysteriously obliterated.
So, what did I do? What could I do?
Sitting there at my desk, I simply started over.
The words were fresh; I’d practically memorized the thing.
But this time instead of wrestling with the words and ideas, they tumbled out of my brain and danced through my fingers onto the keyboard fast and fluid. This time it formed more clearly with ideas I hadn’t even thought of the first time. This time, it had soul.
I finished the essay (again).
I graduated with my degree.
I took 1st place in the essay contest.
Starting over can be a gift.
Regardless of how many times you have to come back to your presence in meditation, it doesn't matter, starting over is a gift.
Even if you've let your meditation or yoga practice go, it doesn't matter, starting over is a gift.
No matter whatever we've lost, tried, and failed at, no matter what didn’t take the first time (or several times), starting over is a gift.
May we all celebrate the opportunity to come back to presence and start over again and again and again.
This time could make all the difference.
I’m absolutely passionate about Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra has taught me more about myself, the Universe, and my purpose in the world than any other practice and I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned with you.
If you’ve ever thought about teaching Yoga Nidra, now is the time—the world needs it more than ever. Also, the world needs more qualified Yoga Nidra teachers, and this course is designed to teach you to become a Yoga Nidra expert, delivering this healing practice in the power of your own voice— because there’s no one who can teach like you can.
One of the things I’ve learned about Yoga Nidra is that even though practicing it is very easy and can lead to profound transformation, being an effective Yoga Nidra facilitator can be very difficult. This is why I’ve created Facilitating Transformation with the Yoga of Sleep, an enlightening, engaging, and enjoyable online Yoga Nidra teacher training where you will learn the art and science of teaching Yoga Nidra using the power of your own voice. You’ll also learn how to apply your expertise to acquire and create excellent teaching opportunities through live or online group classes, workshops, courses, private sessions, and even how to lead yoga retreats and other paid events. I’ll even teach you how to create digital products to sell and share your teaching gifts with the world. In short, you’ll learn how to make a massive impact while making a great living doing what you love.
I’m always talking about Yoga Nidra cuz it’s a complete life-changer—it’s incredibly easy to do, available to anyone, very relaxing but at the same time, immensely transformational. If you don’t know already, Yoga Nidra like a guided meditation that uses layered awareness and systematized relaxation to help you enter the Nidra state, an in-between waking/dreaming state that helps you...
Read moreI hope you’re starting off the week wonderfully.
Here’s an article I posted in Conscious Life News that I thought was worthy of reposting. Enjoy!
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind there are few.”
There is an old zen story which asks, what kind of a cup are you? Are you a cup that is too full, not able to receive any more? Is your cup turned over refusing to do it any other way but your own? Or is you cup turned up, empty and ready to receive what the master has to offer?
When I lived in Korea, I often attended meditation retreats in the mountains with a dear friend Jin-Soon. Jin-Soon was a devout Buddhist and suggested that we go on a light hike up the mountain to her favorite temple. About two hours from our city was Geryangson mountain which housed several Buddhist temple.
It was late Autumn. We hiked, swimming in the warmth and light of the sun, especially after the biting cold of the morning. Eventually, We came to a small temple and quietly, we took off our shoes and stepped inside. Already sitting inside the temple were 2 female monks, both with shaved heads, sitting on mats deep in meditation. I wondered how long they had been there or planned to be there. They looked as though they may as well have been permanent fixtures in the temple. It felt so peaceful and quiet inside that little meditation temple.
Jin-Soon gathered mats for us placed near the door and we sat down and began our own meditation. The sun shone through the window of the door in a perfect rectangle that surrounded my body like a picture frame. I was warm and quiet. I don't know how much time we spent there. Time just dissolved.
Somewhere in the middle of my meditation, I began thinking about Ryan, a friend of my sister whom I had met on several occasions, who had died earlier that year along with his sister. It was a tragic event and even though I didn't know Ryan very well, and his sister not at all, I still felt a deep grief in their passing. I had made a promise to my sister to light a candle for them the next time I visited a Buddhist a temple. I had lit a candle several times for lost loved ones in cathedrals but I wasn't sure that such a ritual was even done in Buddhist temples.
Once we had finished our meditation, I asked Jin-Soon about whether or not people honored the dead in this fashion at a Buddhist temple and if so, how I might go about getting candles lit for Ryan and his sister. She kindly walked me to a small kiosk not far away and helped me buy two 14-inch candles. With candles in hand, I walked to the main temple, a large, imposing edifice, took off my shoes, and reverently entered the door.
Just inside the door was an old monk whose face was very wrinkled, the evidence of a lifetime of smiles. He saw the candles in my hand and I motioned that I wished to place them on the alter. He beckoned me to follow his lead and walking to the center shrine, three gigantic golden buddhas each 15–20 feet high, sitting performed a dramatic bow, he performed a rather elaborate bow, lowering himself to the floor then standing up again with his hands together in a prayer motion. I followed him the best I could, not quite remembering every step of the bow. Then, together, walked together to the alter and placed the candles gently on the alter. I retreated slowly backward and made motions to leave. My monk, however, had more to teach me.
He held up seven fingers and gestured to me that it was now necessary to complete seven more bows. Again, he repeated his dramatic motions and bade me to follow his precise movements to complete the ritual. In that moment, I had suddenly become his student. After many frustrating attempts, I finally learned the sequence: Standing with legs together, hands in a prayer stance, kneel down to the floor without using your hands. Cross the left foot over the right. Then, placing the palms on the floor, bend forward to touch the forehead to the floor. The butt must come down and touch your ankles in this position which was clearly easier for the the old monk than it was for me because my teacher couldn't figure out why I couldn't perform that part and corrected me repeatedly on this point. With the forehead on the ground, turn the palms up lifting the hands off the ground a few inches. Replace the hands on the ground, palms down, uncross your feet, and press yourself up to a squatting position. Then stand up, feet together. Finally, with hand pressed together in a prayer, make a deep bow toward the Buddha. With my every attempt at a bow, my monk hovered over me and corrected me (sometimes rather forcefully) where I forgot. When I completed my offering, my monk gave me a gentle bow and an enormous smile. I reciprocated in bowing and smiling my deep thanks to him.
Despite my awkward offerings, I'm nonetheless convinced that Ryan and his sister were somehow sitting as angels in the rafters, happily laughing at my tutelage and grateful for my gesture. I'm sure of it.
According to you, what are the qualities of a good student? For me, principal among the qualities of a good student is grace, the grace of allowing yourself to be taught, to have an open cup.
As a life-long yoga teacher and practitioner, I will always consider myself first and foremost a student of yoga. Even as I am teaching, I am learning in the process. It's a beautiful paradox, learning while teaching. Whether by formal teaching of a master or from the masters degree from Knocks University (the school of hard knocks) if your eyes are open and heart humbled, there is always something to learn.
With the beginner's mind, there is always now. There is always wonder. There are always possibilities.
I invite you to embrace the beginner's mind in all of your practices, passions, and in the study of life.
Scott Moore is a senior teacher of yoga and mindfulness in the US. He’s taught classes, trainings and workshops in New York, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and L.A. as well as in Europe and Asia. Scott is the author of Practical Yoga Nidra: The 10-Step Method to Reduce Stress, Improve Sleep, and Restore Your Spirit. When he's not teaching or conducting retreats, he loves to write for print and online publications such as Yogi Times, Conscious Life News, Elephant Journal, Mantra Magazine, Medium, and his own blog at scottmooreyoga.com. Scott also loves to run, play the saxophone, and travel with his wife and son. Check out his yoga retreats and trainings in places like Tuscany, France, and Hong Kong , his online Yoga Nidra Course and his Yoga Teacher Mentor Program. Scott is currently living in Salt Lake City after living in Southern France with his family.
ownCLICK THE GRAPHIC FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE SCRIPTS
We all know that practicing Yoga Nidra is easy but facilitating a great class that doesn’t put your students to sleep (in the wrong way) is very difficult. This is why I’ve made this booklet of specialized, powerful, and unique Yoga Nidra scripts for you to use right away.
Practices runs between 15–35 minutes long.
Yoga Nidra for Grief
Yoga Nidra for Goals
Yoga Nidra for Healing
Yoga Nidra for Sleep
Yoga Nidra for Grounding
Yoga Nidra for Sankalpa (Intentions)
Basic Yoga Nidra Practice: Body
Yoga Nidra for Energy and Chakras
Yoga Nidra for Anxiety Management
Full Yoga Nidra Practice (all Koshas)
Yoga Nidra for Heart Energy
Yoga Nidra for Stress
Yoga Nidra for Relaxed Alertness
Yoga Nidra for your Trinity Nature
Yoga Nidra for Compassion
Yoga Nidra for Abundance
Yoga Nidra to Start Your Day
Yoga Nidra for Bliss (Anandamaya Kosha)
Yoga Nidra for Happiness
Yoga Nidra for Inner Wisdom
Supplement your Yoga Nidra teaching with these effective and engaging Yoga Nidra scripts.
Hi! I’m thrilled that found me. I am absolutely passionate about Yoga Nidra. Making these scripts was a labor of love and I can’t wait to share them with you. Whether you’re a Yoga Nidra expert, novice, or just curious, I am grateful to be on this journey with you.
I’ve been teaching Yoga Nidra for almost 15 years and I’ve taken some of my best scripts and put them together in this booklet for you. It’s taken me years and years to learn the subtle art of teaching Yoga Nidra and I’d love to share some of what I’ve learned with these scripts.
A few things to remember …
When you’re reading the script, remember to slow down and allow for pauses between sentences. Give your students enough time to become aware of what you’re inviting them to be aware of. With that in mind, each script runs an average of 30–35 minutes long. There are a few shorter ones included as well.
As you know, practicing Yoga Nidra is soooooo relaxing and easy but facilitating effective Yoga Nidra classes can be really challenging. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes to teach an effective Yoga Nidra experience. Having a good Yoga Nidra script and taking a Yoga Nidra training could be very helpful.
First, to offer an effective Yoga Nidra experience you gotta know the essential principles of Yoga Nidra—what the entire practice is pointing to. A Yoga Nidra facilitator also needs to understand the Yoga Nidra Roadmap to understand how to put the pieces together in a cohesive way to help with transformation. Plus, a facilitator needs to understand the principles of Yoga Nidra well enough to be able to tailor the practice of Awareness to help someone with specific needs.
This is why I made a TON of Yoga Nidra scripts for you, including a booklet of over 100 pages of scripts as well as a free script and audio recording (below) so you can use effective scripts to help teach yourself and other, today.
I would love to teach you how to make your OWN scripts that help you make an impact for the world as well as making a living doing what you love, teaching Yoga Nidra. Are you interested in teaching Yoga Nidra?
I regularly hear from teachers who want to learn to teach Yoga Nidra but don’t want to be a rote version of their teachers. Also, teachers complain that that in order to learn how to write their own Yoga Nidra scripts that they have to wait for and PAY for the level 2 version of a Yoga Nidra training after they’ve already spent thousands on their initial training. That’s why I’ve created both a fantastic book of scripts as well as an online Yoga Nidra training to help you learn to write your own.
I believe that you will be most impactful to your students if you can teach from your own experience and voice, not as a rote version of your teacher. Having said that, reading someone else’s scripts can be very helpful, especially as you’re learning to find your own voice as a teacher.
Learning to teach Yoga Nidra effectively from your own voice and learning to create your own scripts to meet the needs of your students does require understanding the basics principles of Yoga Nidra. When you understand the what and why of Yoga Nidra you’ll know how to use your practice, teaching, and life experience to be not only an effective teacher but and EXTRAORDINARY teacher, able to connect with students in ways that ONLY you can. Once you’ve been to the top of the mountain, you’ll know how to lead others there as well. Plus, I’ll teach you the industry secrets to actually make a living doing what you love.
“I thoroughly enjoyed your teaching and loved listening to all the deep teaching. The content was so thorough, and I have a much better understanding of the koshas now. I have learned so much-it is clear that you are very knowledgeable but also very passionate about what you do. So thank you for putting this training together. I wasn’t sure what to expect from an online training but I can safely say it was brilliant! I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn Yoga Nidra. It was full of depth and sincerity which is what I liked most about it.”
10-15 minutes
Welcome to Yoga Nidra. Please lie down, close your eyes and prepare to relax. Give yourself a few breaths out your mouth and tell your body, mind, and heart to let go. If there is any way that you can prepare to relax deeper or more effectively, please do that now.
As we go through the process of Yoga Nidra, I invite you to welcome anything and everything that comes into your Awareness. From this point on, and through the duration of our Yoga Nidra practice, abandon all assessment of things and become the observer only.
Consider your intention or purpose for practicing Yoga Nidra. In your own mind, repeat, “My intention for practicing Yoga Nidra is . . .” and fill in the blank in your own head. Again, what is your intention for practicing Yoga Nidra? Repeat that to yourself in your own mind one more time
Now I invite you to relax 10% more than you’re currently relaxed. Relax your face. Relax your entire head. Relax your arms, your chest, belly, and back. Relax your pelvis and your legs. As we go through this process, don’t try to control your experience. Simply pay attention to my words and welcome, recognize, and witness everything that comes into your awareness without the need to change or fix anything.
Today we are going to explore sensations and feelings in our body to practice experiencing ourselves as Awareness.
Begin by noticing everything you are aware of in this moment. Notice sounds, smells, the temperature, etc. Notice also emotions, thoughts, and internal sensations. Simply welcome, recognize, and witness everything in your awareness, without any judgement, just awareness. Begin to identify as Awareness itself, Awareness manifesting itself in the form of body, thoughts, emotions, sounds, or anything you are aware of in this moment. Simply allow yourself to welcome, recognize, and witness all things as a way of experiencing yourself as Awareness.
Remember that sensations will come and go and will reveal your underlying Awareness. Be Awareness itself.
As Awareness, experience yourself as sensation. Follow my words as you become more aware of your body and as Awareness, allow yourself to become increasingly more relaxed. Bring your Awareness to the sensation of your mouth. Simply notice its presence. Welcome, recognize, and witness, the sensation of your mouth. Eyes. Ears. Entire face. Entire head.
Now feel the sensation of your neck and throat. Your shoulders. Arms. Feel your left arm as sensation, top to bottom. Feel your right arm, top to bottom. Left arm. Right arm. Feel both arms as sensation. Feel both arms at the same time.
Bring Awareness to the sensation of your trunk, your chest . . . feel your breathing . . . your belly, your back. Simply welcome, recognize and witness the sensation of your trunk. Simply notice its presence as Awareness.
Now bring Awareness to the sensations of your pelvis, the front, back and sides of your pelvis. Simply notice it as sensation. Simply welcome, recognize, and witness anything that arises spontaneously such as thought, emotion, or sensation.
Bring Awareness to the sensation of your legs. Feel your left leg, hip to toes. Feel your right leg, hip to toes. Left leg. Right leg. Left. Right. Now feel both legs, both legs as sensation.
Now feel the entire left side of your body, head to toe. Feel the entire right side of your body, head to toe. Left side. Right side. Now feel both sides. Feel your entire body.
Begin to feel as if your entire body is very large. Now adopt the feeling of being very small. Very large, again. Now small. Now adopt the feeling of being both large and small simultaneously. This does not need to make sense. Simply feel both large and small simultaneously.
What are you aware of in this moment? Sensations will come and go. In one moment, you may feel small and another large. What is the part of you that can be both small and large? Sensations reveal your unchanging, underlying, awareness.
Be Awareness itself. Become extremely aware of all things in this moment as Awareness itself. Simply welcome, recognize and witness all things in this moment as Awareness itself.
(optional additional Kosha exploration)
As Awareness, I invite you to begin to feel your body lying on the floor. Feel the sensations of your legs, feet, pelvis, trunk, arms, and head. As Awareness become acutely aware of the sensations in your hands and feet.
Now I invite you to remember your stated intention for practicing Yoga Nidra.
In a moment, we will be ending our Yoga Nidra practice. Because we have practiced experiencing ourselves as deep Awareness, you will find yourself moving back into your every-day life with clarity, purpose, and focus. You will find answers to your questions, and presence in your relationships. You’ll be more compassionate. You will feel less stress in your life and less reactive to stress. Through our practice of experiencing ourselves as Awareness, your life will feel richer and more vibrant.
In a moment, I will ring a bell (or count down from 5) and that will signal the end of our Yoga Nidra Practice. (Ring, or count). Yoga Nidra is over.